Natura reiterates plans to go global

Speaking in a recent interview with the Financial Times, Natura chief executive Alessandro Carlucci pointed out that in order to break into the global market it chose what is deemed to be one of the most sophisticated, challenging and advanced global markets. France.

"We wanted to choose a sophisticated market where people understand cosmetics and have high expectation,"​ Carlucci said in a recent interview with the newspaper. "We wanted a test that was tough."​

In an earlier interview Carlucci had already said that he wanted to target these four markets, because of their relative development in each of the regions and the potential footing those markets might represent for further expansion into neighboring markets.

Carlucci said he was satisfied with the way sales had been going at its debut store in Paris, which was first opened at the end of last year. It has a prominent position in the heart of one of Paris's main shopping district.

And according to Carlucci the performance at the company's high street outlet has led it to develop a small distribution network at leading retail outlets throughout the country, including Printemps' main department store in Paris.

Often compared to the Body Shop, the Natura business has grown rapidly in it domestic market of Brazil, where it is has managed to corner a significant slice of what is now a fast-growing market.

In the first nine months of this year the company's revenues were up 21 per cent to reach R2.7bn ($1.3bn) - a figure that is currently said to only account for 3 per cent of its revenues from outside of the Brazilian market.

Start-ups have also been established in Peru, Mexico, Argentina and Chile, but now that expansion has begun to target established western markets, Carlucci believes that within the next five years 10 per cent of its income will be derived from overseas markets.

"I am confident we have a base for transferring what we do in Brazil into other countries,"​ he told the newspaper. "I think we can succeed in other cultures and languages."​

The company markets itself both on its ethical stance - guaranteeing that suppliers are paid fairly for the ingredients they provide - as well as emphasizing the high rate of natural ingredients, a number of which are sourced from Brazil's Amazon region.

Market experts are predicting that in the years ahead there will be a great deal of activity in the market for natural- and organic-based cosmetic products, stressing that Europe in particular is likely to witness a number of further mergers and acquisitions, on top of the recent addition of both the Body Shop and Sanoflore into the L'Oreal portfolio.